Save the Date: Saturday May 30!

Transitioning to home life has been a bit strange. In my heart, I wasn’t ready to leave Sierra Leone. I wish I could still be there doing good work, falling exhausted into bed each night and looking forward to helping my patients again the next day. It’s an abrupt change: I went from feeling like there weren’t enough hours in the day to help everyone I wanted to help, to suddenly being back at home on my couch, not allowed to touch a patient for 21 days. The best thing for me right now would be to dive into another mission, but nobody wants me traveling to the developing world while I’m self-monitoring for Ebola. Fortunately, I have One Nurse At A Time to keep me busy!

One Nurse At A Time is an awesome nonprofit that helps nurses volunteer their skills at home and abroad. I am lucky enough to be Vice President of One Nurse, and it is constantly inspiring to work with others who share my passion. I have loved watching first-mission nurses light up the way I did the first time I set foot in Kenya almost a decade ago. Because I feel so strongly about the importance of One Nurse At A Time’s work, I have helped organize our first fundraising event for this May. For those of you who have been enjoying my blog and want to support this kind of work for nurses everywhere, this is a way to do it! Myself and at least two other Ebola responders will be there to share our experiences in West Africa. There will be appetizers and drinks, a performance by a Guinean dance and drum group, a silent auction with some awesome items and experiences, and a chance to try on our Ebola suits if you want to!

All of your kind words meant so much to me while I was on this mission, and I would love the chance to see all your faces and thank you in person. You can buy tickets here and please feel free to invite your friends! Here’s the official invitation:

You are invited to One Nurse At A Time’s celebration

Come hear about Sue Averill and Emily Scott’s recent experiences working at Ebola clinics in West Africa